The Ultimate Squat Review

The padded barbell is comfortable against the shoulders. Image credit: The Ultimate Squat promotional image

Overall, I like the concept and some of the design. I was actually looking for a product like this. I use weights and I use resistance bands for my home workouts. I like bands because I can simulate most gym exercises and do resistance training without the need for a spotter. There are a few barbell exercises that I wanted a resistance band version of. Those included squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts.

I received the following product from The Ultimate Squat to review. All opinions and experiences are my own.

As I mentioned, I like the concept, but there are a few areas where this product fell shorts of my hopes and expectations for the price. First I will mention what I like…

I like the barbell. It is about the right size, but doesn’t have any significant weight. The middle and ends are padded for comfort. It feels nice to grip. I would give the barbell alone 4/5 maybe even 4.5/5. However, to work well it needs the right bands and the right connectors.

About the connectors. These are my biggest issue. They are carabiner style but thin and chintzy. I do feel that they should be more substantial for a product that retails close to $40. I had to compare them with the clips on my suspension trainer, Blodylastics resistance bands and my cheap resistance bands set. It was the thinnest and cheapest feeling of them all. To be fair, I wouldn’t expect them to be as strong or sturdy as the suspension trainer. However, I did expect them to equal the inexpensive resistance band set that sells at a similar price point. Also, for some reason, my set seemed to be missing one of the two connectors. This is why I ended up comparing, I was looking for a carabiner connector to use with my Ultimate Squat. I rate the carabiner / connectors 1/5 or 2/5 if I had both of them.

What the box contains. Mine seems to be missing one of the clips. Photo credit: The Ultimate Squat promotional image.

Finally the resistance band. It is a pretty thin, fairly cheap quality resistance tubing. This in itself isn’t a big problem. To get enough resistance for a squat I had to extend my arms overhead to keep the band stretched. This did provide a decent amount of resistance, but I would prefer more resistance.I compared the tubing to my other resistance tubing and found it was not as high of quality as my BodyLastics and was pretty equal to the lighter resistance tubing in my cheaper set. That is okay, the tubing is better than the connectors but is probably best suited to beginners. I am not sure how durable it is either. A creative user could pair the barbell with resistance tubing from other kits. This could result in just the right level. My issue is the other tubing isn’t quite the right length, but I can work with that. Just in terms of the tubing, I would give this product 3/5 starts. I think it could be better if it came with 2 – 3 different thicknesses of resistance tubing progression

Some detail shots of my Ultimate Squat. Image credit: Collage by Sam using a mix of original photographs and promotional photographs.

Overall, I would probably have given this product four stars if it featured better quality (more durable) connectors and if it included more resistance bands to allow for different levels of strength and progression for the beginners. As it is, I give it 3 stars. It is a nice idea and I can work around the flaws.

Detail shot illustrating the difference between the connector or carabiners used for the Ultimate Squat vs. those used for other resistance tubing products that I have used.

Where To Purchase The Ultimate Squat

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Sam isn't really that "sly", but a college roommate thought so since she had Sly and The Family Stone on nearly constant rotation. When not editing Feeling Fit, Sam can be found pretending to be "sly" and "feeling fit"!